Growth
by PotterIsMyPatronus
Summary: 'He needed a birth. Something fresh and pure. Only the soft hand in his, and the flaming hair in his peripheral vision kept him standing. "Thank you," he whispered.' Harry/Ginny, songfic for Newborn, Muse.


**A/N: I wrote a Hinny *gasp*. The song I used for this is Newborn, by Muse. I love it. Gah. I had to write this. Enjoy. Favourite and review! 3**

* * *

**- the bitterness inside is growing like the newborn -**

****Tombstones, glowing and sparkling in the sunlight gleaming off the surface of the lake, surrounded Harry. There was no grass visible from his vantage point - only the stones. Before him, another one was being placed, packed close to the one beside it.

_Frederick 'Fred' Weasley_

_I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good._

__The sky was overpowering, choking. Harry couldn't take the emotions. It was all white and blue, and he longed for green. Life, not sadness. A funeral was not what he needed. He needed a birth. Something fresh and pure.

Only the soft hand in his, and the flaming hair in his peripheral vision kept him standing.

__"Thank you," he whispered.

* * *

**- when you've seen too much too young -**

****He still had the nightmares.

Skeletal talons stretched out towards Ginny, enveloping her into their disgusting pallid arms, watching her writhe in her cage. Her hair paled until it was grey, her body slumped in defeat, she was being devoured...

"No, Ginny!" he screamed, running towards her. It was like racing through water, he was moonwalking and he couldn't speed up.

Ginny's voice echoed around the room, but her lips didn't move. "Shush, baby, I'm okay."

"Let go of her! Ginny!"

****She looked him in the eye and said clear as day, "Wake up."

When he emerged from his nightmare, his head was being cradled in soft, fragrant hands, his sweaty hair being combed with her fingers, one of her long legs wound into his own, stretching the short and lacy night-dress she wore.

He wrapped his arms around Ginny's small waist, guided her head to his collar bone area and planted soft kisses onto her shoulder. "Thank you," he whispered.

* * *

**- soulless is everywhere -**

****"I'm pregnant," Ginny whispered, fear in her eyes.

Harry gazed up at her from the bed, to where she stood in her bra and knickers, and for a moment, he was so shocked he was frozen. Pregnant. With his child. In her slightly swollen stomach, life was blossoming. And she was scared. It was no surprise, having a new, perfect person growing in you must be a strange thought.

However, Harry couldn't stop the smile from slowly seeping across his face, until he was beaming. Ginny copied. Harry couldn't help but rest his hands lightly on her bare abdomen and feel the life pulse inside. In one bright, fleeting second, he could almost feel his child responding to him though her freckled skin, and it was more magical than anything Hogwarts had given him.

"I hope it's not ginger. They have no souls," Harry laughed.

Ginny swatted at his arms, before falling into them. Laughter made a beautiful soap bubble around them.

Harry leaned close, and he said, his lips brushing gently over the shell of her ear, "So, we're keeping it?"

She nodded.

"Thank you," he whispered.

* * *

**- destroy the spineless, show me it's real -**

****"It hurts, Harry, it really hurts," Ginny moaned.

Hastily, Harry grabbed his coat, Ginny's ready-packed hospital bag full of her essentials and helped her into the car. Sweat caused his hand to slip and slide on the gears and the wheel, but he managed to get to St Mungo's quickly (with a bit of magical help, obviously).

Soon, Ginny was in the birthing room, and Harry was pacing outside. Every regret, every worry he'd ever had about this baby were flooding into his mind like some sort of barrier had been removed the instant he had heard Ginny scream. He was panicking, actually panicking. His breaths were shallow. Nails bit into his palms whenever the shrieks hit his ears.

This was his fault. He wasn't ready for this.

Biting his lip didn't stop a single tear from escaping, but he swiped it away quickly before anyone could notice. Ron and Hermione would be there soon, and he couldn't afford to be crying. That thought - the thought that soon, he wouldn't be alone - did nothing to calm him.

Ginny let out one long plaintive wail, and Harry heard a sob on the end.

A nurse backed slowly out of the room, looked at Harry and smiled sadly.

"You would be the father, yes?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "What's happening? Is she okay?"

"I'm afraid," the nurse explained, "that there are some complications..."

Complications. Never a good sign.

"...and we're devastated to say that the chances of her and the child surviving are slim."

Harry froze in terror, but he managed to force out an, "Okay."

"But I assure you, Mr. Potter, that we are doing everything we can for your wife."

"Thank you," he whispered.

* * *

**- just break a silence -**

****Suddenly, there was a sound that shattered his world.

A long cry pierced his ears, the cry of a baby. Soon, it was muffled, and then it dribbled away to silence, but Harry and the nurse rushed inside.

On the bed, beneath blood-soaked blankets, was Ginny, cradling a small child in her arms. Her skin was pallid and sickly, and her eyes were bordered with tears and shadows, but she was smiling softly.

Harry darted to her side and looked down at the small child in her arms. He was small, his eyes were an odd colour between blue and brown, and his face was wrinkled.

"He's beautiful," Harry muttered in awe. "You did good."

Sighing, Ginny brushed a few black wisps of hair back on the babies forehead lightly. "James. James Sirius. My perfect son. Can I sleep now?"

Harry laughed, before kissing her and his son on the cheek and saying, "Yeah."

The sweetest of small smiles touched her mouth, her eyes closed and her breathing slowed.

Trying very hard not to jostle the baby in her arms, Harry scooted onto the bed beside Ginny, wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair.

"Thank you," he whispered.

* * *

**- how much are you worth? -**

****"Daddy, why is Mummy's tummy big?" James asked, his giant brown eyes fixed on Harry.

"You're going to have a baby brother or sister soon, so you'll have to be the big boy of the house," Harry replied.

Having another child was a huge risk for Ginny, after the traumatic, near-death experience that was James's birth, but she managed to convince him that it was a risk she was willing to take. And so, due to this decision, Harry was entertaining James and Ginny was lounging on the sofa, her stomach as round as a beach ball.

"Mummy needs to rest, so we need to be really quiet," Harry mumbled to James.

James put his finger on his lips and Harry laughed, getting an ice lolly from the bag beside him. He handed it to James.

Beaming, James seized the ice cream, unwrapped it as fast as his little fumbling fingers could manage and gave it a long lick. "Thank you," he whispered.

* * *

**- i'm drifting away -**

****Their fingers interlocked, Harry and Ginny stood next to each other in the shadow their house cast on their garden. Their three children, James, Albus and Lily, hurled themselves across the grass, hurling water balloons at each other and flapping around in the paddling pool Harry had set up. Joy and laughter saturated the sweltering summer air.

"We did well," Ginny said, bringing her glass of lemonade to her lips.

"We did." Harry smiled at her. "Thank you," he whispered.

"You're welcome."


End file.
